April 2008 - PRIVATE EDITION

• Plans for NMSHMM in the Coming Year
• Annual Dinner Photos
• Committee News
  • Membership Renewal Time
  • Government Affairs and Local News Stories
• Upcoming Meetings and Events
• Monthly Meeting Location
• Job Openings
• NMSHMM Officers and Committee Chairs

Plans for NMSHMM in the Coming Year
Brian Pence, CHMM
Rinchem

Greetings! I am honored to become president of NMSHMM for the next year. I want to thank Richie Spangler and the board for their counsel and guidance this past year as president elect. I am looking forward to a year of growth, fun, and excitement for NMSHMM.

The annual NMSHMM banquet was held at Season's Rotisserie and Grill, in Old Town, on March 21. Cedric Calhoun, the executive director of ACHMM, made barnstorming flight to be with us and to host a "town hall" meeting about Academy of Certified Hazardous Materials Manager's (ACHMM's) goals and plans for the coming years. Cedric was very engaging and a pleasure to have as our keynote speaker. The food was fantastic, the door prizes were fun, and the evening was a wonderful opportunity to sit back and enjoy the company of friends and colleagues.

My remarks during the banquet included plans and goals for NMSHMM for the coming year, such as:

Isotopes Night - July 6, 2008 - NNSHMM is teaming up with the Health Physics Society to bring you skybox seats, skybox food, and skybox fun. NMSHMM's Night at the Isotopes was a huge success last year, and this year will be bigger and better. More details will be coming soon, so mark your calendar now. See you there!!

Last year the board worked to amend the NMSHMM bylaws to allow corporate memberships. The details have yet to be worked out, but a key goal this year is to promote more corporate activity with NMSHMM through corporate memberships.

NMSHMM has had a longstanding commitment to community outreach. I hope to continue that legacy this year. One of our members, Chris Cutler, has promoted a program with the Albuquerque Public Schools and City of Albuquerque to help improve our children's performance in math and science. Please check out his article "Have you motivated a child today?" on the NMSHMM website. Through these kinds of activities, we can all make a positive contribution for the future.

I have also committed to support the ACHMM "10x10" initiative (10,000 members by 2010). As we work to grow NMSHMM membership, I want to encourage our members to become or renew membership in ACHMM. ACHMM has made covering national and local chapter dues a one step process through their combined dues statements.

Please join us on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 for our monthly luncheon program at the Uptown Bar and Grill, featuring Richie Spangler, CHMM (past president of NMSHMM). Richie is going to share his reflections and experiences from his recent trip to India to participate in their Essentials of Hazardous Materials Management program.

I want to take this opportunity to thank our members for their commitment and dedication to the field of hazardous materials/waste and health and safety management. I look forward to working with you this year to make our communities and the world a safer place.

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Annual Dinner Photos

Cedric Calhoun, ACHMM Executive Director, tells us future ACHMM plans. New President Brian Pence tells plans for the coming NMSHMM year.	Board Member-at-Large Paul Karas and Lori Snyder fold their arms over some issue.	Robert Rivera talks to President-Elect Mike Sanders and his wife, Linda Nelson.
	President-Elect Mike Sanders, Pat Dentler, and her husband, Tom, enjoy the happy hour.	Past President Richie Spangler, Cedric Calhoun, and President Brian Pence show ACHMM unity.
	New Board Member-at-Large Sandra Martin and her husband, Previn, enjoy the appetizers.

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Committee News

Membership Renewal Time
Debbie Finfrock, PE, CHMM
NMSHMM Treasurer and Membership Committee Chair

It's time to renew your NMSHMM membership for the 2008-9 year. Many of you have already renewed by paying your dues through the ACHMM combined dues program - thank you. Last year, about half of our 75 members joined both ACHMM and NMSHMM. NMSHMM provides many member benefits, including networking with other professionals in the environmental field; interesting, relevant speakers at lunch meetings and the annual dinner; two field trips annually to local businesses and projects with hazardous materials relevance; social gatherings, such as the holiday social and Isotopes night; and access to all the useful information on our website. All this for the low rate of $30 a year! Many other ACHMM chapters charge much more and are not nearly as active as our chapter.

Please note that dues are payable by April 30, no matter when you joined and paid your dues in 2007. There are several ways to pay your dues:

• Pay ACHMM combined dues and designate the Roadrunner Chapter (NMSHMM) as your local chapter.
• Visit www.nmshmm.org and click on the first bullet under MEMBERS GET MORE - "Join NMSHMM On-Line with Your Credit Card and our Secure Form"
• Send a check payable to NMSHMM to P.O. Box 92132, Albuquerque, NM 87199. Please include all the information requested on our secure form, particularly email address (so you can get newsletters), whether you want to be included in the online member database, and what committees you would like to help with.

Thanks for your contribution to making NMSHMM a vital organization.

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Government Affairs and Local News Stories
Compiled by Barry Birch, CHMM, and Eric Johnson, AICP, CHMM

The following are news stories reported during the past month:

• Tectron Energy's plans to drill for oil in the Galisteo Basin continued to be discussed and debated. Water use is expected to range from 40,000 to 70,000 gallons per well. Groundwater contamination can occur from oil spills and disposal of produced water. (Santa Fe New Mexican, 3-1-08)
• The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) intends to proceed with an enforcement action for permit violations against the City of Rio Rancho related to water used at Chamisa Hills Golf and Country Club. NMED Secretary Ron Curry stated that he was "highly disappointed and surprised" by the city's decision to sue instead of complying with NMED's request to prepare a cleanup plan for Chamisa Hills. (Albuquerque Journal Business Outlook, 3-3-08)
• Areva Inc. is considering building a $2 billion uranium enrichment facility near Eunice, where Louisiana Energy Services is currently building the National Enrichment Facility. The Areva facility would employ 1,000 people during construction and 250 people to operate the completed facility. (Albuquerque Journal, 3-8-08)
• New Mexico has less pharmaceutical residues in its water than other parts of the United States. According to Dennis McQuillan, NMED Groundwater Bureau remediation manager, New Mexico has less drug residues in its water because of sparse population, lower income levels (less money to buy medicine), and intense sunlight that rapidly reduces pharmaceutical residues. (Santa Fe New Mexican, 3-9-08)
• Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is currently building the Chemistry and Metallurgy Replacement project, which will consolidate and modernize plutonium work within a safer and more secure facility. Workers at the new facility will work with small quantities, up to 8.4 grams, of plutonium or other radioactive elements. (Santa Fe New Mexican, 3-10-08)
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NMED have different opinions on the new ozone air quality standard (reduced from 80 parts per billion [ppb] to 75 ppb) that was announced in March. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson called the new ozone requirements "the most stringent standards ever." NMED Secretary Ron Curry responded: "The EPA's own scientific experts were recommending a standard as low as 60 ppb for ozone. Bowing to industry pressure and going with a higher 75 ppb standard will potentially mean thousands more heart attacks, hospital visits and asthma attacks for Americans annually - especially for children." (Santa Fe New Mexican 3-12-08)
• In conversations with Senator Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, David Ulibarri (Cibola County Manager), Joe Shirley (Navajo Nation President), and Bill Brancard (New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division and Interstate Mining Compact Commission) discussed issues related to hard rock mining, abandoned mine lands, and uranium mining. Mr. Ulibari stated: "We believe that existing state and federal environmental laws and standards are sufficient to protect the public and the environment." Brancard responded: "Our state was a leading producer or uranium from the 1950s to the 1980s. Many uranium mines were largely unregulated and left a legacy of safety hazards and environmental contamination." (Cibola Beacon, 3-13-08)
• NMED Secretary Ron Curry stated his opposition to LANL's plans to produce more plutonium pits. He said that it is "unconscionable" that the Department of Energy and LANL operators propose to fund additional plutonium pit production while refusing to allocate funding required for cleanup. (Associated Press, 3-14-08)
• The Navajo Nation's Dine Power Authority and Desert Rock Energy filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Houston to force the EPA to make a ruling on an air permit application for a proposed coal-fired power plant to be constructed in northwestern New Mexico. EPA San Francisco spokeswoman Margot Perez-Sullivan said: "Typically it doesn't take this long, but there is really no normal time frame. It really depends on the complexity of the project, and in this case, it is a complex process."
• Local Sunland Park activists continue to challenge two facilities. The Asarco copper smelter in north El Paso recently received a permit to reopen its operations. NMED and Governor Bill Richardson opposed the Asarco permit. The Camino Real Landfill, located west of Sunland Park, is currently seeking renewal of its permit. (Santa Fe New Mexican, 3-23-08)

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Upcoming Meetings & Events

April 3, 11:30 am, New Mexico Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) monthly meeting at the Golden Corral (10415 Central Avenue NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. Speaker to be announced.

April 14, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM Board Meeting at CDM offices, 6000 Uptown Blvd. NE, Suite 200. All members are welcome.

April 16, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill, 6601 Uptown Boulevard NE, Albuquerque. Richie Spangler, NSHMM Past President, will present "Reflections on India: An ES&H Journey."

May 1, 11:30 am, New Mexico Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) monthly meeting at the Golden Corral (10415 Central Avenue NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. Speaker to be announced.

May 20, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM Board Meeting at CDM offices, 6000 Uptown Blvd. NE, Suite 200. All members are welcome.

May 21, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill, 6601 Uptown Boulevard NE, Albuquerque. Speaker to be announced.

June 5, 11:30 am, New Mexico Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) monthly meeting at the Golden Corral (10415 Central Avenue NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. Speaker to be announced.

June 18, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM Board Meeting at CDM offices, 6000 Uptown Blvd. NE, Suite 200. All members are welcome.

June 19, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill, 6601 Uptown Boulevard NE, Albuquerque. Speaker to be announced.

July 3, 11:30 am, New Mexico Chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) monthly meeting at the Golden Corral (10415 Central Avenue NE, northeast of Eubank) in Albuquerque. Speaker to be announced.

July 15, 5:30 pm, NMSHMM Board Meeting at CDM offices, 6000 Uptown Blvd. NE, Suite 200. All members are welcome.

July 16, 11:30 am, NMSHMM Luncheon/General Meeting at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill, 6601 Uptown Boulevard NE, Albuquerque.  Speaker to be announced.

Did we miss something? To get your event added to the calendar please contact Eric Johnson at .

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Monthly Meeting Location

Our regular monthly meetings are held at Uptown Sports Bar and Grill (6601 Uptown Boulevard Northeast; click here for a map). Meetings are held the third Wednesday of the month (unless replaced by a special event as announced via this newsletter) from 11:30 am until 1:00 pm. If you have any ideas for speakers or field trips, please contact a NMSHMM board member.

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Job Openings

For the latest job openings, please click here.  (MEMBERS ONLY)

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NMSHMM OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS

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Please send contributions for future newsletters to Eric Johnson at . Thanks!

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